The Education of Henry Adams [Paperback]

 

 

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I was intrigued by this book because it is almost universally considered to be the best non-fiction book ever written. I went into the book with an open mind and eagerness but ultimately found myself a bit disappointed.

Henry Adams was a member of the preeminent American Adams family (John and John Quincy were his great-grandfather and grandfather). Henry's autobiography follows his uniquely privileged life from childhood through old age as Henry witnesses (and always comments on) the ever-changing American experience and perpetually seeks to refine and further his understanding of the world around him. This relentless pursuit of "education" is the connective theme within the autobiography, as Henry continually considers and reconsiders the rapid scientific, technological, economic and political changes that swept through America and the world during his life. Ultimately, through these experiences and reflections, Henry comes to important conclusions about the role of education, learning and life experiences.

This book is filled with historical references and names from Henry's time period, making the book fascinating for someone who is interested in that period (mid 19th to early 20th Centuries). I personally did not find these references interesting and in several cases, I felt confused or lost because I completely missed important references. The strength of the book is Henry's always sharp observation and clever wit.

I think this would be a great book for those interested in Henry's time period or for those interested more broadly in American history. As someone with only peripheral interests in these areas, I found the book to be a little bit out of my league. People interested in this historical period will find this book quite rewarding though don't read it simply because it is supposed to be great-- for that would be an affront to Henry's belief in self-motivated education.

The writing of Henry Adams can take some getting used to. At times he seems pompous, and falsely modest (after all, how modest can you be when you have decided to write an autobiography of your life), but I suspect the reality is that Adams is simply the product of another time. Clearly influenced by his illustrious family (great grandson of John Adams, grandson of John Quincy Adams, and son of Charles Francis Adams, a Congressman and Ambassador), one can clearly imagine that this is precisely how he was brought up to be, a product of the 18th and 19th centuries. The result is a biography, "The Education of Henry Adams" which is both personal, and yet touches on several important moments in history.

In this book, Adams thinks little of formal education and sees it as not preparing him for his life to come. The education he is talking about for most of the book, is the education he gets from the experiences of life. Those experiences come from his travel, the deep and long friendships he develops with Clarence King and John Milton Hay, and of course from reading.

From his early life, one story really stuck with me, and that is Adams relating his Grandfather, and at the time former President, escorting a stubborn and defiant young Henry Adams to school. Such a scene probably could never happen again, but imagine the impact on the other students to have a President of the United States bring a classmate to school.

One of the most interesting political stories from the book is a long one, detailing his father's period as Ambassador to the United Kingdom during Lincoln's administration. Adams discusses the attitude towards the representatives of the Union and how his father built up a tremendous amount of respect after initially being viewed as a lightweight. Henry Adams served as his father's personal secretary for those eight years, and they had to deal with the attempts by the Confederacy to get recognized and receive aid. An interesting side-note to this period is that they had exchanges of letters with Karl Marx.

Other significant subjects that Adams covers include his personal views on several Presidents, including some very strong feelings about Grant, as well as some lack of interest many that came after, and concern over the youth of Roosevelt. Science also is a key subject, and Adams discusses Darwin, Radium, and other changes which he is overcome by, and predicts quite correctly that the advances in the 20th century will make those of the 19th appear small. Lastly, as mentioned before, the friendships that Adams forms with King and Hay have a tremendous impact on his entire autobiography.

What is missing from this book is 20 years, and an important 20 years it was for Adams, as it is the period of his marriage to Marian Hooper, whom was commonly called Clover. There is no doubt that this period of Adams life would have been filled with tremendous contrasts, both the joy they shared, and the immense sorrow he must have felt when she was depressed and eventually committed suicide. The reader has been denied the personal perspective of Adams, and it is our loss.

I very much enjoyed this autobiography, and it helped that I had read other works by Adams so that I was prepared for his style and manner. I preferred this book to Adams "Mont Saint Michel and Chartres", and the subject matter is certainly broader and likely to appeal to a wider audience. This book was nominated and selected as "The Best Book of the 20th Century" by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and the winner of the 1919 Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography. Despite all that, I am giving it just four stars. I feel his style takes some getting used to, and the absence of those 20 years is felt.

Henry Adams grew up having numerous opportunities available, yet a limited perspective inherited of politically viewing these perspectives from an unbiased, alternative point of view. However, he was far ahead of his time as he didn't allow the constraints of his traditional, plain vanilla, New England raised, Harvard educated upbrining get in his way of addressing what really matters to being happy, satisfied, contempt in 19th century American society.

This book is many things: as he himself referred to a search of meaningful truth through education that could be utilized in the long-term and is not brushed under the carpet after it's application for a particular task has been deemed unnecessary; a search for inner and outer spiritual balance and connectedness with the past, present, and unknowable future in an age of rapid change, discovery, and industrial transformation; and finally the importance of having gratitude and honoring born-out priveleges, while seeking to expand one's intellectual and social horizons and affiliations.

The analogy to the mechanistic dynamo and his educational interpretation of needing to brede scientifically minded, evolution espousing mathematical minds and his other whimsical social inferences have proved prophetic and were way ahead of his time. From his ruminations on the unique cultural differences toward the work-play ethic of Germany, France, Italy, and England , to his analysis of the ill-founded corrupt Grant and Reconstruction era Presidencies, to the evolution of the diplomatist's political importance and stature, and finally whether his life truly added something significant to himself and society, Adams is a philosophical genius listening and taking it all in as his world vastly changes and transforms itself on a locomotive train ride. In the end he found education through the traditional means of the textbook and teacher-pupil method successful if adapted toward science and technology, but inadequate as only experience and traveling brought on the proper perspective and long-term balanced outlook for an individual. These conclusive findings is the primary reason to read this philosophically inquisitive book, as many of the other's thought processes and findings bear strong truths to today's hustle-n-bustle lifestyle.

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1.0 out of 5 stars One of the most boring books I've ever read
I acquired this book in high school or college and never read it. I kept it around because it appears on lists of must read books. Read more

Published on Dec 24 2001 by John A. Lefcourte

5.0 out of 5 stars After The Fifth Read
I read this book for the first time in the Navy in 1948 and have just read it for the fifth time. I love to read his discriptions of people. Read more

Published on Aug 16 2001 by David G. Scott

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Distant
This books is indeed full of some memorable aphorisms. Adams certainly lived through some remarkable changes, but to someone who is not particularly well-versed in the period,... Read more

Published on July 10 2001 by Steve McFarland

5.0 out of 5 stars An Education
Henry Adams starts off his autobiography with a description of how tough he's had it living up to the standard of his president great-grandfather, president grandfather, and... Read more

Published on Jun 5 2001 by Acnoth

4.0 out of 5 stars the bridge between the distant past and near past
Henry Adams managed to become a Modernist late in life. He was 62 years old at the turn of the century and a bit older when he wrote this memoir and yet his prose is crisp,... Read more

Published on May 9 2001 by mr_fishscales

5.0 out of 5 stars Stupid Teachers.....show some respect to Mr. Adams
I can only laugh, to hear the reports of students being required to read Adams. If there is one thing I am certain, it is that Adams would not appreciate being assigned... Read more

Published on Sep 6 2000 by dgl1976

3.0 out of 5 stars Searching for an education
The Autobiography of Henry Adams details his lifelong search for a useful education. It takes some time to see that Adams is poking fun at himself for how little formal... Read more

Published on Aug 9 2000 by Dianne Merridith

3.0 out of 5 stars Pompous, amusing, annoying, erudite . . .
(It is certainly exciting that the internet provides a chance for book-lovers to discuss not just new books but classics. Read more

Published on July 16 2000 by tyewolfe

5.0 out of 5 stars An uneven but rich take on a world in transition
Its funny how some reading experiences emcompass more than just the book itself. In the case of Henry Adams autobiographical essay collection, The Education of Henry Adams, I... Read more

Published on May 26 2000 by Doug Vaughn

5.0 out of 5 stars This edition is especially great because...
it has thorough, helpful notes that help fill in the historical gaps in the book. I was hooked straight from the beginning when I saw the detatched way that he was going to try... Read more

Published on April 10 2000 by supastar

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